do you have a subject?

M

Margu

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a happy photographer has a subject and is fully committed to that subject. an unhappy photographer is always restlessly looking for a subject.

do you have a subject?
 
my main subject is a small part of my city that i hang out in as much as possible. i have been shooting there for years…eventually i'll take a great pic there.
 
Margu said:
a happy photographer has a subject and is fully committed to that subject. an unhappy photographer is always restlessly looking for a subject.

do you have a subject?
Click to expand...


I disagree with your definitions of happy and unhappy.
In fact, i would almost turn them around to say that a happy photographer is always restlessly looking for the subject of his next picture. But the truth is . . . to each his own.


EDIT: yikes, as always, someone beat me to it !!!
 
I never take a photograph unless I have a subject.

Despite having a master's degree in photography, I can happily go months without picking up a camera - until I have initial plans for a project well developed and ideas for subjects.

I never, ever just wander around until something catches my eye! For me, photography is very deliberate, like many painters approach their craft.

Haven't taken a "proper" photo since July!
 
My subject is New York City. Mostly inanimate objects, but some people. Various projects. I am very happy. There is no one size fits all in photography. Some people do well with a very defined idea and some do better with just photographing and then figuring out their project later. I do a little of both.
 
I believe in serendipity, opening up myself and my frame to the good things and subjects that'll happen when I allow and facilitate them. With patience it'll one moment all come together: the light, the people and the composition.
 
My preferred subject is destination photography; however, for practical reasons, it is not something that I can practice throughout the year, so I am constantly on the lookout for local photo opportunities. I am only unhappy in the sense that I wish I had more time and/or money to photograph my preferred subject.
 
I remember attending a workshop with then Outdoor Photographer magazine writer DeWitt Jones who said..."If you go out looking for Clouds and Clouds aren't happening but Trees are...then shoot Trees..."
I normally don't have a subject in mind when I go out...I look for what's happening and work with that...
 
Margu said:
a happy photographer has a subject and is fully committed to that subject. an unhappy photographer is always restlessly looking for a subject.

do you have a subject?
Click to expand...

Hmm, were I to parse it that way, then, no. For me, mostly, I have an objective and the subject is based on that.
For example, this winter I want to learn macro photography and the subject of those photos will likely be snowflakes.

Seems a bit facile to to me.
Rob
 
Margu I'm not sure I follow you.

Searching for and capturing that "Known Unknown" is to me the happy place of photography.... discovery!

Are you referring to a "story" rather than a "subject"?
 
My subject is whatever interesting thing or situation my life offers up.

Just an observation Margu, you come across as somewhat rigid. Surely there are different styles/manner of working that suit different photographers' temperaments.
 
I've just finished editing a large project and am about to begin layout. I have two more projects on tap, one about things, one about people; for one of which I may need a different camera from the ones I have. So maybe that's three projects, including the search for the right camera.

But lately I've mostly been photographing my grandson. I guess that's a subject/project in itself. He's starting to be aware the camera, so maybe that subject (documenting his ongoing discoveries of life and the world with no self-consciousness on his part) is beginning to come to an end. Though the pictures will continue, as long as he lets me get away with it.

And you, Margu?
 
Sometimes I am driven by a subject ... a lot of the time I'm just driven by light and composition and the subject becomes secondary.
 
Margu said:
a happy photographer has a subject and is fully committed to that subject. an unhappy photographer is always restlessly looking for a subject.

do you have a subject?
Click to expand...

“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity” ... no?
 
there's a number of themes or subjects in which I have a continuing interest, but I don't let that prevent me from experiencing the joys of carrying a camera and taking a picture when I see something that interests me, or a fleeting opportunity that arises. Successful pictures aren't dependent on a plan. Sticking only to a predefined subject limits opportunities to take advantage of the moment..

Having a subject makes it easier to build a coherent body of work, if that's your aim. But a personal way of seeing can have the same result, even without a subject.

Edit:
"an unhappy photographer is always restlessly looking for a subject"
Click to expand...
a happy photographer is always restless, in my experience.. whether pursuing a subject or not. If we were all satisfied with our work, progress would stop..
 
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